, 1887-12-20
HAD TWO JURIES.
Frank DeCastro Engages the Atten-
ton of Twenty-four Jurors.
Convicted of an Assault With Intent
to Infict Injury.
On Trial for Perjury Said to Have
Been Committed in September.

A rather unusualand quite curious state
of affairs existed in the district court for
several hours yesterday. The cases of
Frank De Castro, wherein he was alleged
assaulter with a deadly weapon and per-
jurer monopolized the attention of the
court and two juries simultaneously. I'm
mediately upon the retirement of the jury
to consider the evidence and law on the
first charge another Jury was ~empanelled
to ~oficiate in the trial for perjury, which
is still pending.
In the first case, growing out of an in
dictment charging the defendant with
assaulting and attempting to kill Otto NJ.
Schwartz, the jury included Messrs. Cow
hick, Jefferson, Haygood, Booth, Sladeck,
La Pash, Marsh, White, Stevick, Rou-
leau and Logan.
The evidence adduced pointed plainly
to the guilt of the accused, but several
palliating circumstances were brought out.
The affair in question occurred at a dance
and was outgrowth of remarks made
questioning the chastity of certain women
present. Schwartz and DeCastro subse-
quently became involved in a dispute and
the latter drew a revolver snapped it at
his opponent and ended by attempting to
strike him with the weapon.
After celebrating two hours the jury
returned a verdict convicting the prisoner
of an assault with attempt to inflict great
bodily injury. The penalty for the COM
mission of the misdemeanor is imprison-
ment not exceeding one year.
The jurors for trial on the second count
are: Messrs. Oder, Morgan, Simmons,
Plant, Baxter, Livingston, Shamp, Gill,
Mckay, Underwood, Conway and Ben
ton.
In this instance it is alleged that De
Castro, when testifYing in his own behalf
during his preliminary hearing upon the
charge of an assault and attempt to muir
der, swore to the existence of a state of
affairs where the direct contrary to his
statement was the case. He deposed that
the revolver with which he struck
Schwartz contained no bullets, hat the
cartridges had been removed by one
Safel.
The prosecution holds, and will en-
deayor to establish that De Castro was
well aware that the revolver was loaded
upon the occasion referred to at the time
of his deposition that it was empty, and
hence harmless except for use as a blud-
geon or billy"
The first witness was w. f. Lee, justice
of the peace, before whom the defendant
was arraigned for hearing last September.
His testimony was a s~ubstantiation of the
transcript of record made upon that oc-
%casion, nature of the charge, and admins
tering of the regular oath to De Castro at
that time.
Mrs. Brown, the stenographer who
acted as court reporter during De Castro's
preliminary hearing, was called next. She
produced the original shorthand notes and
upon request read those and
questions in De Castro's evidence relating
to the %purported unloading of his revolver
by Satfel. The lady was subjected to a
quite severe cross-examination regarding
the accuracy of her notes, the possibilities
OF making errors in trauscribing or extend
ing and the likelihood of having miscon-
strued some of De Castro's replies. She
was positive that no material mistake had
been made. Before the cross-question-
ing had been concluded an adjournment
was taken until this morning, when con-
sideration of this case will be resumed.
Wilkes and Cavanaugh, charged with
horse stealing, will be arraigned at the
conclusion of the second De Castro trial.